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Watch out now! When a group of seriously talented and intelligent group of Indigenous women form a collective of creative professionals, you KNOW it’s gonna be good.

CREATING COMMUNITY

Tea & Bannock is a blog collective featuring 7 female Indigenous photographers and multidisciplinary artists hailing from all over Canada, where they delve into ideas on identity, food, culture and community and what inspires them most. They desire to foster a space where pivotal behind-the-scene moments and reflection on all parts of the creative process can flow. One particular member of the collective, Amanda Laliberte is a client of mine. We found each other through the glorious 6 degrees of separation that is the internet and once again, I am fully enchanted by the relationships, the friendships …. the SISTERHOOD that coaching has afforded me. I fell in love with Amanda’s deep, honest way of sharing with me and her ability to trust in herself (and in me) so fully. So, when a few months later … she and her fellow collective members launched this wonderful collab of theirs, I was of course, smitten. I mean, it’s made up of all the stuff that inspires me, sets my soul on fire. The raw, real, magnificent beauty, culture, and heritage of land and story, where time has no boundaries … all of this embodies what I see coming to fruition here. That which only a lens can capture, unique to that of the individual in control. I love photography and what I adore even more, is when Indigenous women gather to create.

“I want a community, a group of women I can talk to about editing, and writing, and art, and what it means processing all of that through Indigenous eyes,” … “I want a place where we lift each other up, and support one another.“

Tenille reached out to Indigenous women; creative professionals she followed on Instagram and Facebook. Women with who weaved magic through their art and their words. Women who inspired her. And thus began the journey to creating this collective of Indigenous women, holding each other up. Visual artists, supporting each other. A safe place to talk about the work, interpretation and inspiration behind their projects.

“The idea of helping others and working with others has always been a part of Indigenous ideology when it comes to business and artists, I find. And this was a structure that I wanted to cultivate within tea&bannock.

That’s where mentoring came into play. All the main artists of the blog are talented, creative individuals with different skills. They have so much to offer to those around them. Mentoring was a way to reach out and help others reach their potential – and this could be done in many, many ways. From a one-on-one meeting, from assisting in a shot – to teaching basic how to in an editing program, to listening and offering constructive pointers.

Each main writer has an opportunity and obligation to reach out and mentor an aspiring artist/community in some way throughout this year. It can be done on a personal one on one level to something as wide reaching as posting a YouTube tutorial. The creativity and opportunity is there to give back, and I’m excited to see how we all take advantage of that.”

Ever LOVE a musician so much that you soak up every release, every video, every word, every second of their magical artistry? Hope so. That’s the case for me when it comes to my lovely lady friend Tamara Nile, otherwise known as T. Nile. I am so happy that I can finally share this video with the world! It showcases the usual seductive, synth power meets folk style that I ADORE about T’s one-of-a-kind sound.

3 years ago I began feeling sick. I knew something was wrong but couldn’t put a finger on it. As time went on, I got worse. One day I woke up and my legs were balloons and I couldn’t move. I stayed this way for one year, it was devastating. I spent endless hours in the hospital, at the lab and at the doctors. Endless tests and no results. No one could find anything. Finally, one year ago, I found a naturopath who saved my life. The next year would prove to be the most difficult. Treatment made me more sick. Somedays I felt like there was no hope. It made me sad to look at my kids and not be able to play with them. It made me sad to not be able to move and dance or even go to the park. I felt like I was slowly losing myself. Today, I am walking again. I can pick up my children. I can be intimate with my husband. I am starting to feel like myself again. As I look back, the past few years is very fuzzy. There’s a lot of darkness. All of this to say: My husband PLEX has just dropped his first music video from his new album. The song is called Lucky Stars and it is dedicated to me.

“My wife, the love of my life, is the centre of our family, our anchor. Watching her struggle with Lyme Disease has been difficult to say the least. I made this video as a tribute to her. To remind her of all the great moments we have had during this dark time.”

Watching it for the first time was overwhelming. He managed to capture some beautiful moments of our family over the past few years. It is a great reminder for me that even though I FELT like was disappearing, I was very much here and still am. Being loved, feeling loved, is such good medicine. He might think that I am the anchor of the family, but I couldn’t have gotten through any of this without his support and love. I, too, thank my lucky stars.

Being the wifey of a folkie has its benefits. Immeasurable in their direct association to the unique wonder that is Trevor, himself. A complicated, kind, funny, dark, charismatic, charming and sensitive man … but I’m not here to talk about all of that. I’m referring to all of the extras that I’ve gotten to reap from his direct connection to music in Canada. Born into an illustrious Canadian folk family, he is the son of an accomplised musician, gold record producer and deeply respected advocate/patron of the roots/folk music scene in Canada. Trev followed in his dad’s footsteps and as a result, has met and made many a friendship with other musicians on the scene.

Then there was that time BC (before children), when he was the Artistic Director for the Eaglewood Folk Festival. This is where we first began to work together as creatives on a big project. I suppose you could say EFF had a significant influence on how our relationship developed in those first early years together. Working and living together is not for the weak! Why am I giving you all of the back-story? Well, I’ve gotten a few questions from readers about how I know about or discover the talent that I feature here as a part of our “Feature Friday” series.

Well, it is in part, thanks thanks to Trevor. I have made some amazing friendships through him, in particular with other strong, creative women. The ladies, well, they like Trevor. Not in the way you might think! Well, yes … back in the day that way too. He did his fair share of camp-fire courting! That is, after all, how he reigned me in.

Which brings me to the particularly gorgeous and unreserved talents of T. Nile. An acoustic and electronic goddess, T.Nile comes from a lineage of one-man-bands starting with Jesse Fuller (wrote San Francisco Bay Blues) followed by her father, Dan The One Man Band. I fell in love with her luminescent vocals year ago, and when she started to combine usual her guitair, banjo, harmonica, kazoo with foot percussion, synth and electronics … HOT DAMN! It was like nothing I’d ever really heard before and immediately wanted more of. She began touring with her dad at the wee age of six so one could say she definitely has the chops and the experience to permit for such ballsy experimentation. Being quoted by Sarah Bauer of Exclaim Music as a, “banjo-plucking love-child of Beck and Lana Del Rey” … I couldn’t agree more. Her voice is sultry and strong. He lyrics and prose deep, throughful and spread throughout your atmosphere like honey.
So, without firther ado – I bring to you the avante-garde, west-coast folk roots meets EDM sonic stylings of T.Nile!

You know you’re going to love this one, based on the title alone. The Bad Mother is a feature film in the making. It’s not quite finished yet and the creators, makers, hustlers and creative masterminds behind and in front of the scenes … need our help to do it. After watching the trailer, you’ll understand why this flm needs to get finished. As you wipe tears of laughter from your face.

I had this grand idea to do a recorded Google Chat Q+A with the creators based on that one time I recorded a hands-free breast pumping bra review. Technical difficulties aside, we figured out how to record our little G-chat and you can learn more about the project and why they need our help after the jump!

True renaissance men. It’s always rather grand when we come across one such human being, isn’t it? Someone whose creative and artist brilliance sparks a fire in you so strong you are immediately inspired and uplifted. Even if you aren’t an artist, the pure form of eye candy and sould fulfillment alone is enough to launch your spirits and let your mind soar.

This is why it is in our very genetic make-up, the fabric of our being(s) no matter our race, sexual preferences, belief system(s) or taste in music and art … this is why we as humans gobble art in all of it’s vast and glorious ways every chance we can get. So when one finds a multi-disciplinary artist such as Lehi Thunder Voice Eagle Sanchez, one becomes an immediate fan-girl.

Lehi is Native American of theDiné (Navajo)/Totonac people. He was born in Ganado Arizona on the Navajo Reservation and grew up living off the land duing the summers and has become one of the world’s elite leading survivalist experts. Lehi has taken these teachings from the land, the ways of his ancestors and tradtitional methods of storytelling to modern day with a natural flair for capturing moments, natural light, composition and colour; as a painter, photographer writer, videoographer and graphic design artist.

Motivated by the therapeutic relief that art has within his personal practice, he describes putting a brush to canvas as supremely regenerative and cathartic:”being able to put a brush on canvas, or even doodle in a notebook helps me analyze and overcome anything within my life.”

Inspired by his upbringing, his culture and the way he see’s the world, his art is a reflection of Indigenous and wilderness perspectives. Lehi is also an accomplished graphic designer and is quickly becoming a highly sought after name within the video and photography industry. His photography has been featured on many blogs including buzzfead and for Bethany Yellowtaill.

As a wilderness survival expert, Lehi has (and continues to) helped thousands of troubled youth to get back on the right path through his work with his father Ezekiel Sanchez, one of the founders of the Wilderness treatment program, ANASAZI Foundation. (One of theleading programs in the nation for youth intervention and behavior modification.) At the young age of 10 yrs old, Lehi was put out in the wilderness to begin his training in hopes that one day he would follow in his father’s foot-steps. As ANASAZI grew and developed so did Lehi and his brothers. Each summer they would assist in helping “troubled youth” learn a better way of life. Through true basic principles of life, thousands of children had a life changing experience.

Currently, Lehi is living in Mesa AZ attending ASU working on his Masters in Business Management and assist in Trail Training and assisting in Field Directing at ANASAZI. And making kick-ass art of course, to feed his soul AND yours! (Lehi also happens to be engaged to one of my best-friends, who is an amazing multi-discliplinary artsist that we featured a while back!)

Okay moms and dads. I have some limited edition CUTE, FRESH and totally RAD gear you want to know about! The recently launched Setsuné Indigenous Fashion Incubator is fundraising for its 2015 Workshop Series and Collective Creation Project. The Incubator has been created to support the creation of new works in fashion, textiles and wearable art by young Indigenous women and mother artists (16-35); and all the proceeds go directly towards eliminating some of the barriers Indigenous women and mothers may otherwise face, such as priority access to programs, childcare, transit, meals, and materials. Setsuné reserves a majority of registration spaces at their workshops for Indigenous women, although the workshops are open to everyone to learn and about Indigenous arts, traditions, practices and protocol.

I knew that my community of parents would want to support this endeavour, especially since knowing that all proceeds support a good cause …

We’re absolutely in LOVE with this new video from Leela Gilday and the creative geniuses over at Artless Collective. I’ve had the honour of knowing Leela and admiring her warm, fierce, kind and creative soul as a friend. She made a connection with my son in particular, when he was but a wee baby and he’s adired her ever since. She was his first crush, I’m pretty sure! His favourite song/video used to be, “One Drum,” but now he has something new to his YouTube playlist.

The song, “Rescue” is one of many vocally sublime, earthy feats you can find on her newest album, “Heart of The People.” Last night a grand collection of Indigenous artists gathered for the JUNO awards in Hamilton, ON. and Leela was up for Aboriginal album of the year along with our friends Digging Roots, Crytal Shawanda, Tomson Highway and Tanya Tagaq. Tanya took it home with her earth-shatteringly brilliant album “Animism”(congrats!) – and yet – the celebration continues to be about them all. The comraderie and geniune respect and love they all have for one another is truly inspiring and lesson to many of us who get caught up in these sorts of award shows.

Press play and marvel in this visual and sonic artistry, sure to provide some excellent vibes for your Sunday! (Yes, we’re late in posting this week’s FF. Such as life.)

Sarain Carson Fox is one of Canada’s most innovative, up and coming multi-disciplinary Indigenous artists. A proud Anishinaabe woman and Midewiwin Society member, (the traditional Ojibway Medicine Society), this is a kwe who believes that we connect as Anishinaabe people through our traditional medicines. Since 2012 she has made it her personal mandate to include our youth in all the work that she does in one way or another. She splits her time between her professional dance projects and teaching and sharing dance with youth; primarily at-risk Indigenous youth.

Serious keeper right here. For your ears. I’ve been a fan of Nick Sherman since I first discovered him as the kind young man who, when touring through my home town, performed at our neighbourhood block party. He’s been working hard and captivating audiences ever since, he became a father and executed a rather successful Indiegogo campaign for the production and release of his upcoming sophomore album, “Knives and Wildrice” due out this May.

He in fact hosted a, “Knives and Wildrice” podcast on Indian and Cowboy for a little behind the scenes action sharing what it’s like to record an album. Expect candid documentation of life on the road and at home as a touring musician, who is doing it without major label representation. All 10 episodes are now available to stream for free online and they’re quite entertaining and compelling!

Nick is an Ojibway singer-songwriter originally from Sioux Lookout that often gets described as the ‘Nish John Mayer.’ Which, in my humble opinion I think does him no justice. For starters, he’s not a douche…and well, I’ll just let you be the judge of his musical mojo.

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This is the new home to a blog collective of two voices. A rich carnival for your senses. Recipes from life, love and the kitchen. Tellers of stories on motherhood, woman-hood and rabble-rousing. Of loss and triumph – lightness and darkness. From our tribes to yours…we look forward to connecting with you.

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